Raid at cyber café underscores new gambling law

Sunday

Feb 10, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Aaron Nicodemus ON BUSINESS

State police raided the Net Play Café at 560 Lincoln St. last week, carting away a truckload of machines and carefully bagging evidence in plastic bags, according to a regular customer who witnessed the raid.

Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office is leading the investigation, according to a spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police. A spokeswoman for the AG’s office said she could not comment on an ongoing investigation.

So, the raid happened. Why it happened is also pretty clear.

On Nov. 1 last year, the state outlawed “sweepstakes” and other businesses that feature machines that pay out cash or other value prizes. Net Play had attempted to get around this new law by mothballing its sweepstakes games and bringing in new machines called “skills games.” The inference was that people who play on the machines are actually doing something other than clicking a computer mouse and hoping for a lucky payout.

The customer I spoke with about the raid said the café had also stopped giving out actual cash prizes; instead, the Net Play Café would add value onto a Visa card, which could be spent like cash at the café or used like a debit card at other businesses.

I didn’t have any luck getting anyone at the café to comment. The business, sandwiched between a storefront U.S. post office and a vacant office supply store in a retail strip across the street from Lincoln Plaza, was closed when I visited it last week. When I called, the voicemail prompted me to leave a message, which I did.

I did not have any luck figuring out who owns the business. Six months ago, North Carolina businessman Matthew Durand sold the café, but I could not determine who bought it. Public records at City Hall on the café’s entertainment license were unavailable this week.

Where there was once uncertainty over whether these businesses were legal or not, the state Legislature and the attorney general’s office have cleared things up.

The law now says that sweepstakes games are illegal.

“Sweepstakes” is defined in the law as “any game, advertising scheme or plan, or other promotion, which, with or without payment of any consideration, a person may enter to win or become eligible to receive any prize, the determination of which is based upon chance.”

And the penalties, once a mere slap on the wrist, are more serious as well.

On Aug. 1, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law legislation that enhances the criminal penalties for illegal gambling at “cyber cafés” throughout Massachusetts. The new law went into effect on Nov. 1, and established “a new crime for conducting or promoting an unauthorized sweepstakes that is executed through the use of the entertaining display of an electronic machine. The new crime carries a penalty of up to $250,000 per offending machine and/or imprisonment of up to 15 years in state prison.”

While it is clear there was a raid of the Net Play Café last week, it is unclear if anyone was arrested. As I said, the AG’s office declined to comment on the raid or any arrests.

State police and the AG’s office have made similar raids in Revere, Peabody, Fall River, New Bedford, Fairhaven, Lowell and several other cities. A former Fall River city councilor, Leo Pelletier, pled guilty in August to charges of organizing or promoting gambling services, operating an illegal lottery, allowing lotteries in a building, and the sale and advertising of lottery tickets. He and a co-defendant received two years’ probation, and were ordered to pay $100,000 to the state.

So these sweepstakes cafés, which were once skating on the edge of being illegal, have now crossed over into full illegality.

Back to buying lottery tickets for Worcester gamblers searching for their fix.